


Doleful Tolls the Bell, Ringing Out Doom

by Kiiratam



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst (but only because we know what happens next), Canon Compliant, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Weiss Suffers (but mostly off-screen)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 17:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20213863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiiratam/pseuds/Kiiratam
Summary: Pyrrha takes Nora, Blake, and Yang out shopping. Dress shopping. For the post-Vytal Festival dance.Takes place around Volume 3, Chapter 3. (My BMBLB fic index)





	Doleful Tolls the Bell, Ringing Out Doom

"You don't have to do this, Pyrrha." Yang could hear a slightly frantic edge in Blake's words.

  
Pyrrha smiled back at them. "But I want to! Why have lien if you don't get nice things for your friends?"

  
Nora added. "Who do you think keeps buying me cake? Pyrrha."

  
"I assumed Ren kept making them for you. " Blake said.

  
"Naaah, he doesn't bake. Just cook."

  
Yang laughed. "Oh, he's _just_ an amazing cook. I'm sure it's a real burden for you, Nora."

  
The four of them had just stepped off the shuttle into one of Vale's fancy commercial zones. The Vytal festival was in full swing, and the district was lavishly decorated to match. The tournament matches were over for the day and both RWBY and JNPR had progressed to the doubles round. But for now, they had other matters on the mind.

  
Yang rolled her shoulders. "So Pyrrha, where were we headed? You said you had a specific shop in mind?"

  
She nodded. "_Journey to the Dress_. It's where I got my dress for the last dance."

  
Blake looked to the side. "I don't understand why I can't just wear the dress I have." The only dress she owned, Yang knew.

  
Nora shrugged, "I mean, you _could_. But then you wouldn't have a new dress to wear!"

  
"Even if you don't find anything," Yang added, "We'll need help choosing."

  
"It just feels like we just had a dance, though. " Blake shook her head.

  
Nora snorted. "You were a little loopy at the time, but it _was_ a few weeks back. And I don't know about you, but _I_ could use a party, after all the fights we've been getting into."

  
"Speaking of needing a distraction," Yang looked at Pyrrha, "Did Weiss and Ruby just have other plans?"

  
"Well, I didn't think Weiss would come, but I did ask her." Pyrrha spread her hands. "She just said she needed to focus on the doubles match, and that she had plenty of dresses to choose from."

  
Nora nodded. "It _is_ Weiss. I bet she has tons of fancy dresses we haven't seen yet."

  
"I asked Ruby, but she, ummm." Pyrrha thought for a moment, picking her words. "She said she wanted to 'see how the other half lived,' and have actual pockets. So I'm going with her, Ren, and Jaune later, to get suits."

  
Yang laughed. "That's Ruby. Find her one with a cape, and she'll be thrilled. I'm just glad I don't have to organize this dance. I can relax and enjoy it."

  
Nora slugged her in the arm. "Yeah, you just _hated_ the last one. It may have driven Weiss crazy, but you were having the time of your life."

  
"It wasn't relaxing, but it was satisfying. Seeing all the pieces fall into place. Or mostly, anyway." Yang darted a glance at Blake. "Maybe I'll have time to get a date for this one."

  
Blake bit her lip, looked around at the festival decorations. Yang clamped her jaw shut, kept herself from sighing. Looked off to the other side, tried to appreciate how the decorations complimented the fading leaves. Dug a hole in her mind, and tried to bury her frustration into it. Covered it in fresh-fallen leaves. Watched it crawl out again, diminished but still present. Blake and her were closer. But it had been Yang taking one small, careful step forward, followed by Blake leaping in three, then dancing those three back out again. Or at least, that was how it felt.

  
Yang knew it wasn't as simple as that. And that Blake had very good reasons for her hesitance. But it still felt like trying to fight that three-tone woman on the train; she couldn't make contact. Yang inwardly growled. It **wasn't **a fight. She used her anger at herself as a shovel, beating her frustration around the head, and burying it again, deeper. Blew out a breath of air. "Anyone have any dress ideas, or are we all going in with open minds?"

  
"Uh, pink. Obviously." Nora grinned at her.

  
Pyrrha said, "Just something different."

  
Blake shrugged. "No idea."

  
"What about you, Yang?" Nora asked.

  
"I don't know, really. I like my white flouncy one, but I don't know if I want something slightly different or very different. I guess I'll see what they have."

  
Nora stopped as an idea struck her. "Hey, what if we all get matching outfits? Not _exactly_ the same, but close enough so that it's obvious that we shopped together?"

  
Pyrrha nodded. "That does sound cute."

  
Yang's scroll buzzed and she pulled it out to check. <Yang! Uncle Qrow's in town! He's busy now, but he'll hang out with us tomorrow! ALSO HE HAD A FIGHT WITH WEISS' SISTER AND IT WAS AWESOME!>

  
"Anything interesting?" Pyrrha asked.

  
"My uncle's in town. And I think we missed a fight back at Beacon."

  
Nora screwed up her face. "At Beacon? Aren't all the fights at the Colosseum?"

  
"You'll have to ask Ruby about it. She didn't say much." Yang looked around. "Is that it up there, Pyrrha?" She nodded at a shop in the middle of the block.

  
"That's it." Pyrrha led the way, holding the door open for everyone else.

  
From the counter, an older woman with short steel-gray hair looked up from her sewing. Smiled at the four of them. "Welcome back, Miss Nikos. How did you like the last one?"

  
Pyrrha beamed back. "It was wonderful! Thank you again for delivering it to Beacon, Mrs. Sidero."

  
"No trouble." She waved a hand. "My grand-daughter had to bring a whole rack over for your last dance. I take it you ladies are shopping for the end of the Vytal festival dance?"

  
"That's right!" said Nora.

  
Mrs. Sidero shook her head. "So sad that you girls only get two dances a year up there. Most schools have four or five." She brightened. "But you're training for a very important job. And I recognize you girls from your matches. Miss Valkyrie, Miss Xiao Long, what knockouts!" Nora and Yang beamed back at her. "And Miss Belladonna, what an excellent use of your Semblance!" Blake ducked her head, blushing. "Now, did you have anything in mind, or did you just want to browse for a bit?"

  
"I think we need to look around first." Pyrrha said.

  
"Wonderful, wonderful. I'll be here if you need me." She returned to her sewing.

  
Nora turned to Yang. "Let's see if we can find ones that match." The two of them went off to one side of the store, leaving Blake and Pyrrha to look at the other.

  
They looked through racks idly. Nora pulling out any one with pink on it to get a closer look. Yang just slowly working her way through. Too many colors on that one. Weird pattern. Kind of cute, but _really_ not in her size. She'd look like a barmaid in that one. Nice feel, but shame about the rest of it. "How are things with you and Ren?"

  
Nora paused, three dresses already in her arms. "Oh, you know. Like it's been." She looked over to the other side of the store, lowered her voice a bit. "You?"

  
Yang let out a small sigh, shook her head. "The same." She looked up at Nora. "How do you just... stay in place?"

  
"Oh, that's _cute_." Nora grabbed another dress. "Just focus on them. Be ready. Wait."

  
Flipping through more dresses, Yang blew out a breath. "Yeah, I'm trying. It just... feels like we're going around in circles."

  
Nora reached out and slugged her shoulder. "Aren't you the one that lives in the moment? Do that. Learn to love the circles." The last was delivered in an almost sing-song tone. She lowered her head, peering at the dresses on the rack.

  
This one could work. Yang pulled out a sleek black dress. Definitely different than the last one she'd worn. She reached out and squeezed Nora's shoulder. "Thanks."

  
Nora snorted. "I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. Just need to hear it said, sometimes."

  
"Any luck on matching?" Too long. Weird neckline. Slit up to _where_?

  
"We may want to color-match, instead of design. Pyrrha always goes for elegant, Blake likes strappy things, and I like poofy. Autumn colors?"

  
Yang frowned. "I'm not sure how well we can fit pink in there. How about sunrise? Blake can go darker, you can go pinker, Pyrrha's got a nice selection of reds, I can get a yellow." She pulled out a yellow dress - almost more of a sundress than a fancy dress. Shook it by way of demonstration.

  
"What are we going to do, stand on each other's shoulders for the full effect?" Nora added another dress to her armful. "We could find dresses that look like flowers, and be a bouquet."

  
"Braid the flowers into our hair? Make the guys and Ruby get green suits?" She laughed at the image of Ruby in a bright green suit. Imaginary Ruby was not happy with it. "Or be filler flowers, like baby's breath." Ruby in a white suit, with intricate lace sections on the jacket. Ooh, or a lacy cape. Imaginary Ruby looked positively bridal. And still wasn't thrilled.

  
"Ren would go for it." Nora looked off into the distance. "Like a formal version of what he usually wears, but he's in all green, and I have enough pink for both of us. Get Pyrrha in something gold, and Jaune in red. Like a young Port." She looked at Yang. "You two in purples? Blake with a yellow bow, you with a black sash? And Ruby in white, maybe a red lining on her cape." Nora nodded. "I like it. What do you think?"

  
Yang laughed. "Think we can get Weiss to dress up as a bumblebee?"

  
Nora snorted. "Nope. She'll be in blue or white, maaaaybe red. But she can join the bouquet. Maybe Sun? He might think it's funny."

  
He might at that. Yang wondered how the rest of SSSN would react. "I like it. It'll be the details that pull it together, though. As long as we all choose dresses that mostly work as flowers, we should be fine." Yang hung the two dresses she'd pulled back up, and pulled out her scroll. Started looking at flowers.

  
"I'll go tell Pyrrha and Blake." Nora, still carrying her armful of dresses, walked off.

  
Yang shot off a quick message to Weiss. <Do you have any dresses that look like flowers? We're going for a bouquet theme with JNPR for the next dance.>

  
Kept checking her scroll. Looked like violets were the best flower for her and Blake. Purple, almost black, yellow, maybe some white... For Ruby and Weiss, she didn't want to go for the obvious, and pick a white rose. Hard to fit the red in. Maybe snowdrops?

  
"Hey."

  
Yang looked up from her scroll, to Blake. "Nora tell you the plan?"

  
Blake nodded.

  
"What did you think?'

  
"It's a pretty loose theme." Blake continued. "But there are a lot of us, with very different styles. It'll work."

  
"Did she tell you her idea for us?" Yang tried not to tense up, hoping Blake wouldn't slip away, prepared herself to let Blake do it.

  
"Purples." Blake smiled. "With accents the color of the other person's hair. Nora had that gleam in her eye, when she mentioned the last part."

  
Yang snorted. "The same look when she talks about breaking legs?"

  
"That one. Nora isn't subtle."

  
"So what do you think?"

  
Blake looked down at the racks of dresses for a long moment. Then back up to Yang. "I like it. Did you have any ideas on flowers?"

  
Handing her scroll over to Blake, Yang said. "Violets. Good range of purples, and black, white and yellow can all work as accents."

  
As Blake looked through the pictures, Yang noticed her blushing. That, she didn't get. They were just flowers. Yang ran back through what she'd said, trying to find something that would embarrass Blake. If Nora's comment about their complimentary accent colors hadn't done it...

  
Blake handed her scroll back. Looked her straight in the eyes. "Good choice." She started blushing more.

  
"You... okay?"

  
"Fine!" She started playing with her hair, dropped her eyes to around Yang's knees. "Just... remembering some poetry."

  
Yang nodded. Must be some good poetry. More Sapphire FitzBattleaxe? "So we probably want to get something with softer curves, instead of straight lines. Between that and the color, we should have an easy time of it."

  
Blake nodded back at her, turned to the racks. Yang did the same, looking for purples.

* * *

<Your uncle is an irresponsible, drunken maniac! How can you think of dresses at a time like this? Shouldn't you be training?>

  
Yang closed her scroll. She'd have to wait until after the tournament to see if Weiss had a dress that was on theme. Looking up at Blake, she asked. "Find anything?"

  
Blake held up two in matching styles, one fading from purple hem to white neck, the other darkening from purple hem to black neck. "I saw some others that I like, but these are the best pair I've seen."

  
"Those look great! Which one did you want?"

  
Looking in a mirror, Blake held them up to herself, one at a time. "I think the white one will work better with a yellow bow." She held the other one out for Yang. "I don't know if Nora's idea of a black sash will work with this one."

  
Yang took the dress, looked it up and down."Yeah, it would kind of ruin the color shift. I could just wear a black bow."

  
Half-reaching up to her own bow, Blake said. "It's a little too symmetrical. Besides, aren't we already doing flower crowns? Your hair might get a little crowded." She paused, thinking. "What if you do a black ribbon on one arm?" Blake took Yang's hand, raised her arm. Traced crossed lines on her forearm. "Kind of like that. Or even higher. Not as formal as gloves, but sort of giving the same impression?"

  
Nodding, Yang tried to keep her heart from racing. Told herself that Blake was just showing her an idea, and that there was no reason to get excited. Failed miserably. "Like those strappy bracers you have?"

  
"Yeah. I don't know if you want to have it all tied off, or leave them loose, so you have some added motion."

  
"Oh, you could use an extra long ribbon for your bow and have dangling ends too."

  
Blake shrugged. "We can wait and see how it looks."

  
"Okay." Yang looked at the back of the store, where Mrs. Sidero was finishing Nora's fitting. "Want to go next? I think Pyrrha's still looking."

  
"Sure." Blake looked at Yang, seemed to be on the verge of saying more. Closed her mouth and went to join Nora and Mrs. Sidero.

  
Holding up the dress to herself, Yang looked at the mirror, not really seeing it. Nothing to do but wait for Blake. She tried to remember what Nora told her. Held onto what she'd felt when Blake was holding her hand and tracing on her arm. Blew out a breath, tried to actually see what the dress looked like. It was a lot darker than she'd pick for herself, but hopefully it'd work as a set. Long, sleeveless, with a low cut back and high neck. She just hoped Blake would be able to finish her thought later.

  
Yang slung the dress over her arm, and strolled over to Pyrrha. "Find anything?"

  
"Yes, but I could use a second opinion." She held up two similar dresses. They were a lot like the dress Yang had worn last time. The main difference was the color - a pale, almost delicate, yellow, or a darker, shimmery goldenrod.

  
"The darker one is going to be easier to match with a red." Yang said. "I'd worry about the pale one getting overwhelmed. Especially if you have your hair down." Even if the pale one was a pretty good match for Jaune's hair. She stepped a bit closer to Pyrrha. "You know, you may need to be a bit more obvious. Some people are bad at hints."

  
Pyrrha looked back and forth between the dresses, then down. "I thought I _was_ being obvious." She hung the pale yellow dress back up. "You were at the dance. But nothing's really happened since then."

  
Shrugging, Yang said, "I mean, you could read what happened at the dance as a team thing, not a romance thing." She didn't, but it wasn't a completely ridiculous conclusion. Even if she, Blake, Ren, and Nora all clearly saw Pyrrha throwing herself at Jaune. "Maybe you should just ask him to this dance." Before he got more silly notions into his head about asking Weiss. Or, Yang shook her head as a sudden thought struck her, Ruby. Maybe there was a whole thing about being a leader in the mess. Not dating within a team, or something. Or just being with someone who understood the burdens of leadership.

  
"You think I should?"

  
Yang paused. Pyrrha wasn't in the same situation as Nora and she were. Where the attraction was mutual and known, but there were other issues. Jaune had excellent tactical instincts, but he was kind of terrible with emotions and social cues. Not hopeless, but in the same boat as Ruby. And Pyrrha - if she needed a push to do something for herself for once, Yang could do it. "You should. It'll be good to make it obvious."

  
Pyrrha smiled at her. "All right. I'll ask him before the end of the tournament. " She settled a bit, into a more determined stance. "What about Blake?" She nodded over Yang's shoulder, toward the back of the shop.

  
Yang looked over at her shoulder, at Mrs. Sidero bustling around Blake, checking the fit of the dress. She turned back to Pyrrha, bit her lip. "I can't. Shouldn't. We had plans for after the festival, but we haven't talked about them, and I don't know if they're still on, or-" She cut herself off. "Sorry."

  
Back in her Beacon uniform, Nora bounded up. "This is going to be so much fun! Let me see what you found?"

  
Grateful for the interruption, Yang held up her dress. Pyrrha did as well, and Yang tried not to meet her eyes. She hated forcing other people to share her worries. Pyrrha was just trying to help. Like she always did.

  
Nora oohed and aahed over their dresses. "I like it, Pyrrha! It's so _shiny_! And Yang, that's a great match with Blake's!"

  
"She found them both."

  
Nora pulled out her scroll. "Mrs. Sidero took a picture of me in my dress, so you have something for Ren to match to. I'll send it to you, Pyrrha." She tapped away, and Pyrrha's scroll buzzed in response.

  
Opening her scroll, Pyrrha looked at it, nodded, and started to put it away. It buzzed again.

  
Yang grinned. "Someone's popular. Who is it?"

  
Pyrrha looked. "Professor Ozpin. He wants to talk to me tomorrow."

  
"Well, you're not in trouble, whatever it is." Snorting, Nora continued. "I mean, what are they going to do, disqualify you from the tournament because you won too many already?"

  
Shrugging, Pyrrha put her scroll away. "Looks like Blake is done."

  
Nora looked over, saw Mrs. Sidero beckoning at them. "That was quick. Yang, do you want to go?"

  
"Sure." She started forward.

  
Mrs. Sidero greeted her with a smile. "Just use the changing room on the right. Your friend is on the left." She pointed down a short hallway, and went back to writing on a notepad.

  
Yang went down the hallway, into the door on the right. Got changed, tried not to think too much. The dress fit. Mostly. She didn't want to move her arms too much, and her breathing was constricted. Well, that was the point of getting it fitted. She left the room. Bit hard to walk in, too.

  
Meeting her at the end of the hallway, Mrs. Sidero steered her up onto a small pedestal, letting her look into a set of mirrors. "I thought I'd have to give your arms a bit more room. It's normal for Huntresses. Arm out, please." She measured, tapped Yang's arm back down. "And the bust too, but I expect you hear that a lot."

  
Yang stuck to nodding. Saw her friends reflected in one corner of the mirrors, circled together in conversation.

  
Mrs. Sidero circled around her, measuring, making notes, and chattering. She stopped in front of Yang at one point, and looked up at her, smiling. "Don't feel like this is bad. Everyone's shaped different. And most dresses aren't made with Huntresses in mind. It'll look wonderful on you."

  
"Thanks." It wasn't really what she was worried about. But it was nice to get reassurances, however misplaced.

  
"You and Miss Belladonna are close?"

  
Yang tried not to tense. "Just friends. And team mates."

  
Mrs. Sidero nodded, went back to measuring. "Of course. Miss Valkyrie told me about your theme for the dance. She's a pink lotus. Did you and Miss Belladonna have a flower in mind?"

  
"Violets seemed to be a good choice. The colors matched."

  
"Was that all? Hold still please."

  
Yang tried to look down at her without moving her head. "...Is there more?"

  
"Of course, dear. There's an entire language of flowers. Most people don't worry too much about it, though."

  
"So what do violets mean?"

  
Mrs. Sidero met her gaze. "Well, if you've read your FitzBattleaxe? Passionate, romantic love between women."

  
Oh. That explained Blake's blushes. Yang felt herself blushing, too.

  
"I just thought you should know, dear. Miss Belladonna certainly does. I didn't want you to say anything you didn't mean."

  
"Oh, I mean it. I didn't know I was saying it, but I mean it." The words just slipped out.

  
Mrs. Sidero smiled up at her. "Glad to hear it. The two of you will look lovely together." She kept working, as Yang tried to get her blushing under control. Tried to avoid looking at the mirror where she could see her friends.

* * *

Yang handed Mrs. Sidero her dress, back on its hanger. Mrs Sidero tore the top page off of her notepad, and pinned it to the dress. "I'll get working on this one, and my grand-daughter will bring all of them up to Beacon a few days before the dance."

  
"Thanks!" Yang smiled, and went over to Nora and Blake. Pyrrha must be changing.

  
She saw Nora elbow Blake, and pull out her scroll. "Oh, look at that! A message from Ren! I should go call him." Nora stepped over to the front of the store, about as far away as she could be and still be inside.

  
Blake smiled at her. "How was it?"

  
"I think it might be easier for her to make a new dress." Yang shook her head. "But it's done. And I think it'll look good once its done. And I might even be able to dance in it."

  
"That is important, at a dance." Blake looked down, played with her hair. Dropped her stance a bit, rolled onto the balls of her feet. Looked up into Yang's eyes. "Did you want to go with me?"

  
Yang remembered a few lines of one of the FitzBattleaxe poems Blake had read to her.

'I can no longer say a single thing,  
but my tongue is frozen in silence;  
instantly a delicate flame runs beneath my skin.'

How she managed to remember that, and not how to say 'Yes, I would love to' was beyond her.

  
"Yang?"

  
She swallowed through a dry throat. Nodded. Reached out to grab Blake's hand between hers, and squeezed it tightly. Nodded more, just in case. Tried to remember how words worked.

  
"Okay." Blake ran her other hand through Yang's hair.

  
Yang shivered, managed to speak. "I would love you. To! I would love to go to the dance with you." Blushed, but kept looking at Blake. Squeezed her hand again, and let it go.

  
Blake nodded. "Read anything good lately?"

  
"Just _Zoom_. And textbooks, but I figure we've both read those. _Debutantes of Ardor_ come out yet?"

  
"Next week. Last day of the Vytal Festival."

  
"Want to go on a trip to grab it after the dance? I mean, I know we have finals right after, but we can't study all day."

  
"Sure. You have any new mods for Bumblebee planned?"

  
"Just seasonal maintenance. Might have to touch up the paint job. Want to help?"

  
"Sounds good. Maybe you can teach me to ride, too? You said learning to ride was important for your balance when using Ember Celica."

  
"Yeah. It's all connected. Was there something like that for Gambol Shroud?"

  
"...Want to learn to sneak?"

  
"I can try."

**Author's Note:**

> The relevant (selection) of the poem by Sappho (Sapphire FitzBattleaxe).
> 
> "For by my side you put on  
many wreaths of roses  
and garlands of violets  
around your soft neck.
> 
> And with precious and royal perfume  
you anointed yourself.
> 
> On soft beds you satisfied your passion.
> 
> And there was no dance,  
no holy place  
from which we were absent."
> 
> Both it and the in-text poem are translated by Julia Dubnoff (though I have taken the liberty of replacing the generic 'flowers' with the usual 'violets', because this poem is the source of the association between sapphic love and violets, for crying out loud.)


End file.
